Discovering new trout waters

Craig Rist
Tasmania has so much to offer the trout angler, from tiny mountain streams and lowland rivers, to lakes that are big enough to fish from a boat, along with hundreds of small lakes and tarns that will give you another reason to go bush walking.

Inshore Fishing the Tasman Peninsula – Pirates Bay and Nubeena

by Matt Byrne
Visitor information
Two popular fishing locations on the historic Tasman Peninsula are Pirates Bay and Nubeena. Pirates Bay and Nubeena are located approximately 1 hour and 1.5 hours drive south of Hobart respectively. These locations are highly popular and are jam packed during the peak holiday periods and this is partly so due to the great diversity of fishing that is on offer.

Jan’s Flies

Hoppers, hoppers and more hoppers and I am not talking about grasshoppers. Jassid is the name and they are leafhoppers. On Saturday the 27th of February we had a hatch of these insects in numbers that I haven’t seen for many years. The back wall of our shed was covered with dozens of these small insects. A few days later I was at Bronte Lagoon where I had these insects landing on my shirt. On both occasions the jassids were of the brown variety. They are still very much on the trout’s diet if there is enough to get the interest going. In Tasmania’s highlands there seems to be mostly two different colours, that’s brown or red bodies. Groups of jassids cluster together to feed on the young eucalypts. These insects particularly the very young will be attended by ants which feed on the honeydew excreted by the jassid.

Fishing around Cradle Mountain

Shane Flude
The Cradle Mountain area is well known to locals and tourists alike and most are aware what this special region has to offer. What many don’t know however is that this area is also home to some particularly good trout fishing in both rivers and lakes. This article describes several of the main waters which are worth fishing in and around the Cradle Mountain area.

Sight fishing for bream

by Isaac Harris.
Most of my fishing for bream is done after I see them. Casting to ‘sighted’ fish is the greatest thrill ever! Polaroiding for trout is common enough, but my passion is bream – from the shore. I’m going to explain the highs and techniques of sight fishing in this article.
Being a school kid in Hobart, without a car to tow a boat, restricts me to fishing shore-based or ‘shorebashing’ as many call it, whilst dad (transport) is working. Mostly I fish weekends and holidays or any chance I get really. No matter where I get dropped off, or whatever time, I usually get to see some unbelievable stuff in the good weather, but also the bad.
This article relates mostly to the Derwent River, but applies to similar waters all around Tasmania.

You can help bream research

Dr James Haddy.
Do you want to be a recreational research angler? Have you ever wondered how old a bream is?. Been concerned about environmental flows into our estuaries or thought about how climate change might affect fish abundance. If so you might be able to help staff and students from the Australian Maritime College answer these questions by participating in a black bream research project as a recreation research angler.

Tasmania’s Pat Sullivan beats Australia’s best

Garfish Footy Season Fun

Mike Stevens

Garfish are one of Tasmania’s most sought estuarine fish during the cooler months. During the AFL season - March to September they are plentiful, great fun to catch and delicious to eat. The cooler months are best, and bigger fish are found inshore and in most Tasmanian estuaries.
Southern garfish: Hyporhamphus australis

2010 Game Fishing Season

by John Orchard
It’s in full swing - and once again time to dust off the tuna lures, give the rods and reels a quick service  and get out there on the ocean doing what we all love doing – chasing the infamous southern bluefin tuna.

Chasing Autumn Trout - April - May